The present invention relates generally to structural members for candles; and, more particularly, to a wick clip assembly for a candle which optimizes the burning of the candle wax to minimize undesired heat transfer to the adjacent surface of a candle holder or display.
Candles have long been used for many reasons, including as a light source, as a mood or ambience enhancement, and/or as a means to dispense and disperse materials, such as fragrances and insect repellants. Typically, such candles include a fibrous wick immersed in a fuel source, such as wax. In wax or paraffin candles, the flame of the burning candle melts a portion of the solid fuel into a molten fuel pool, which in turn comes into contact with at least a portion of the wick. When a candle is lit, the wick draws the fuel through its fibers via capillarity and the fuel is vaporized to feed the flame.
As a candle burns, extraneous material, such as bits of carbon from either the wick or a match used to light the candle, may collect in the fuel pool. If the burning wick comes into contact with this extraneous material, the flame from the wick may ignite the extraneous material which can raise the temperature of the wax high enough to vaporize the wax and cause a sudden explosion of flame often called xe2x80x9cflaring.xe2x80x9d To prevent the wick from collapsing into the fuel pool and extinguishing the flame or igniting such extraneous material as the wick is being burned closer to the bottom of the candle, a wick clip is often provided in the bottom of the candle to hold the wick in an erect position.
Oftentimes, candles are placed in holders or on supporting surfaces to avoid having the candle""s fuel flow onto or adhere to the candle""s location during use. As used herein, xe2x80x9csupporting surfacexe2x80x9d is used to connote any surface upon which the candle is placed for burning. In candles with conventional wick clips, as the wick burns closer to the base of the candle and the wax pool diminishes, an increasing amount of heat is transferred from the flame, through the wick clip, through the melted wax pool, and to the supporting surface. As the heat transferred from the wick clip to the adjacent portion of the supporting surface increases over that being experienced by the remainder of the supporting surface, supporting surfaces formed from materials such as glass and the like can be damaged, such as by fracturing or cracking.
It is known in the art to provide a candle with xe2x80x9cself-extinguishingxe2x80x9d capability. Using a wick clip to elevate the exposed portion of the bottom end of a wick from a supporting surface cuts the wick off from the fuel pool once the pool level drops below that portion of the wick, thereby extinguishing the candle and retaining a fuel pool on the supporting surface. Ensuring that a minimum melt pool remains throughout the lifetime of the candle helps distribute the heat across a larger portion of the supporting surface, and can also tend to help keep extraneous material away from the flame. In other words, in addition to extinguishing the candle, elevating the wick also serves to separate the primary flame from the extraneous material in the fuel pool as the pool lowers.
Conventional self-extinguishing wick clips, however, are not effective at reducing the heat transferred from the wick clip to the supporting surface. Typical self-extinguishing wick clips extinguish the candle as soon as the fuel level drops below the neck of the clip. Moreover, hot melt glue or other structure or materials must be applied to the bottom of typical self-extinguishing wick clips to seal off the bottom of the wick from the fuel. Otherwise, a meniscus of fuel can form under the wick clip that allows the wick to draw substantially all of the fuel off of the supporting surface before extinguishing. The added step of applying this seal creates relatively complex manufacturing steps and tolerances, and leads to greater expense and inefficiency in the manufacturing process. Furthermore, the seals created by this process are often ineffective, allowing the wick to undesirably draw most or all of the fuel off the supporting surface before extinguishing. As can be understood, failure to maintain a minimum melt pool of unconsumed wax allows the heat of the flame to be concentrated on the supporting surface.
Although xe2x80x9cfootedxe2x80x9d wick clips (clips which have some small spacer or protuberance on their lower surface) are known in the field, they are likewise relatively ineffective at dissipating heat. Moreover, such wick clips have either ineffective or non-existent self-extinguishment characteristics. Therefore, there remains a need for a wick clip that more reliably reduces heat transfer and has optimal self-extinguishing capabilities.
Accordingly, an object of this invention is to provide an improved wick clip which addresses the shortcomings and failures of clips available heretofore.
Another object of the invention is to provide a wick clip that reduces the amount of heat transferred to a supporting surface.
Still a further object of the invention is to provide a wick clip that has superior self-extinguishing capabilities.
Yet another object of the invention is to provide such a wick clip with reduced manufacturing costs.
Additional objects, advantages and novel features of the invention will be set forth in part in the description that follows and in part will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon examining or practicing the invention. The objects and advantages of the invention may be realized and obtained by means of the instrumentalities and combinations particularly pointed out in the appended claims.
To achieve the foregoing and other objects, and in accordance with the purpose of the present invention as described above, a wick clip assembly for candles to be used on a supporting surface is provided. According to one embodiment of this invention, a wick receiving member is disposed adjacent to the top of a base. A generally open skirt extends downwardly from the base, and is adapted to maintain the base in a predetermined spaced relationship relative to a supporting surface in use. The bottom end of a wick penetrates the base and is securely attached to the wick clip assembly by the wick receiving member such that its bottom end is located above the supporting surface in use.
In a preferred form, the wick receiving member comprises a generally tubular conformation, is centrally disposed on the base in a substantially vertical orientation, and is crimped to securely attach the wick to the clip assembly. Preferably, the skirt comprises a plurality of downwardly extending legs and a plurality of flow passages between adjacent legs. While the self-extinguishing capabilities of the wick clip assembly are maximized if each of the surface areas of the flow passages are larger than the surface area of the corresponding leg, approximately equal surface areas of corresponding passages and legs are preferred. Furthermore, the base, wick receiving member, and skirt are preferably integrally connected and formed from a thin, non-flammable material, such as steel.
In another form, the invention provides a method for making a wick clip for a candle to be used with a candle display having a support surface. One provides a base and a wick receiving member attached to it, and bends the base along a plurality of equidistant bend lines to form a plurality of downwardly extending legs and flow passages. A wick is attached to the wick receiving member.
While the base can have a variety of initial conformations, such as generally round, generally polygonal conformations, such as triangular, are preferred. Preferably, the wick is attached to the base such that its bottom end extends downwardly below the base only a portion of the length of the legs. In yet a further preferred embodiment, the bottom end is generally coplanar with the base. Both of these embodiments preferably locate the bottom end of the wick in a position spaced upwardly from a supporting surface in use.
In still another embodiment, the invention provides a method for making a candle with a supported wick. One preferably provides a candle with a wick passage that runs between the candle""s upper and lower ends, a base with a wick receiving member attached to it, and a wick that is longer than the wick passage. The wick is secured to the wick receiving member adjacent to the wick""s bottom end, and the base is bent along a plurality of equidistant bend lines to form a plurality of flow passages and downwardly extending legs. The top end of the wick is inserted into and passed through the wick passage until the distal ends of the downwardly extending legs are generally coplanar with the lower end of the candle. The formation of the legs and passages can be undertaken before, after, or during attachment of the wick to the base.
In a preferred form, the bottom end of the wick extends downwardly from the base for a distance which is less than the downwardly extended length of the distal ends of the legs. In yet a further preferred embodiment, the bottom end of the wick is generally coplanar with the base. In this way, the wick bottom will be spaced upwardly from the bottom-most portion of the clip, and will be spaced from a supporting surface in use.
Still other aspects of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the following description of a preferred embodiment, which is simply by way of illustration several of the best modes contemplated for carrying out the invention. As will be realized, the invention is capable of other different obvious aspects, all without departing from the invention. Accordingly, the drawings and descriptions are illustrative in nature and not restrictive.